This application claims priority of Taiwanese Application No. 091209032, filed on Jun. 17, 2002.
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an electric corkscrew, more particularly to an electric corkscrew that can be operated between cork-screwing and cork-releasing modes by controlling rotation of a motor unit in positive and negative directions.
2. Description of the Related Art
Electric corkscrews, such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,101,899, are known in the art. However, in the conventional electric corkscrew, no means is provided to turn off the same automatically when a cork has been unplugged from a bottleneck.
Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide an electric corkscrew that can automatically shut down when a cork in a bottleneck has been screwed out of the bottleneck.
According to the present invention, an electric corkscrew comprises:
a hollow grip member having an open lower end that is adapted to permit extension of a bottleneck plugged with a cork into the grip member;
an electric power source mounted in the grip member;
a motor unit mounted in the grip member;
an auger disposed rotatably in the grip member, coupled to the motor unit, extending to the lower end of the grip member, and adapted to screw into the cork in the bottleneck;
a power switch including
first and second stationary contact members mounted fixedly in the grip member and coupled electrically to the motor unit, and
a movable contact member mounted movably in the grip member and coupled electrically to the electric power source, the movable contact member being movable among one of a motor-deactivating position, a cork-screwing position and a cork-releasing position,
wherein, when the movable contact member is disposed in the motor-deactivating position, the movable contact member does not contact any one of the first and second stationary contact members such that the motor unit is disconnected from the electric power source and does not drive rotation of the auger in the grip member,
wherein, when the movable contact member is disposed in the cork-screwing position, the movable contact member contacts the first stationary contact member to enable supply of electric power from the electric power source to the motor unit with a forward polarization such that the motor unit drives the auger to rotate in a positive direction for screwing into the cork that is to be unplugged, and
wherein, when the movable contact member is disposed in the cork-releasing position, the movable contact member contacts the second stationary contact member to enable supply of electric power from the electric power source to the motor unit with a reverse polarization such that the motor unit drives the auger to rotate in a negative direction for screwing out of the cork that was unplugged from the bottleneck; and
a control unit including
a sleeve body disposed in the grip member adjacent to the lower end, the sleeve body defining a cork passage with a wider lower portion, a narrower upper portion, and an intermediate shoulder portion between the lower and upper portions, the auger extending through the upper portion and into the lower portion of the cork passage, the lower portion being adapted to permit extension of the bottleneck therein, the shoulder portion being adapted to stop the bottleneck from extending into the upper portion, the upper portion being formed with rib means for engaging the cork on the auger to resist rotation of the cork with the auger when the cork extends into the upper portion of the cork passage, and
a normally closed control switch disposed in the grip member above the sleeve body and interconnecting electrically the first stationary contact member and the motor unit, the control switch being adapted to be actuated by the cork in the cork passage when the cork extends out of the upper portion of the cork passage as a result of rotation of the auger in the positive direction, the control switch interrupting electrical connection between the first stationary contact member and the motor unit when actuated by the cork so as to disconnect the motor unit from the electric power source and cease further rotation of the auger in the positive direction.